Author's Note: Don't worry I haven't forgotten about this fanfic! I have
been busy the past few weeks and I am just now getting to sit down and do
this chapter productively. I hope you enjoy it and remember to read and
review because otherwise I will not continue this fanfic.

Looking for Salvation

Chapter 4

"Miss Cook! Miss Cook!" Marie shouted hoping that her could here her.
Ronnie's eyes where open but they she was staring off into space as if
nobody existed.

Finally Ronnie's eyes focused and she could see the figure of a young dirty
blonde haired girl standing on front of her. "Marie?" Ronnie questioned
her voice rusty from lack of use.

"It's okay Miss Cook you're in the hospital," Marie explained.

"Hospital?" Ronnie questioned.

"Do you remember what happened?" Marie asked.

Ronnie thought for a moment until she finally remembered, the classroom,
the shooting, all of it, then she realized that she couldn't feel her legs.
"Oh god!" she gasped just as the doctor came into the room.

"Miss Cook," the doctor said. "I have a few things I want to check out
ok?" To shocked to say anything Ronnie only nodded as the doctor
discreetly moved her hand to Ronnie's thigh and pinched it. "Can you feel
that?"

"Feel what?" Ronnie asked.

"Miss Cook I just pinched your skin hard enough to bruise," the doctor
said. "There is no easy way to say this but the bullet scraped your spinal
column. We don't know whether or not this is permanent but we are going to
put you threw a physical therapy program."

"What is the probability I will be able to walk again?" Ronnie asked.

"Probably about 50/50 right now," the doctor explained. "We started you on
a pain killer and we have notified your friends and they are on their way."

"Okay" Ronnie said. The doctor left the room and then Ronnie turned her
head towards Marie. "How's everything doing?"

"Fine," Marie said. "My grades are good and my friends are fine. Miss
Cook the real reason I came here is to thank you. You didn't have to
follow me wishes you could have ignored me and just went to the police but
you didn't."

"You don't have to thank me," Ronnie said. "I was just doing my job."

"No," Marie said. "Not every teacher cares about their students the way
you do. You care and as a result of that you may not even walk again.
This shouldn't have happened to you Miss Cook."

Before Ronnie could say anything in return there was a knock on the door
and a slow creek as it opened, in popped Carmen Torres.

"Hey Ronnie you're awake," Carmen yelped.

"Please don't talk so loud I have a headache," Ronnie told Carmen.

"No problem did the doctors tell you anything?" Carmen asked.

"Yeah," Ronnie said. "She said that there is a 50/50 chance that I could
walk again."

"Oh god Ronnie I am so sorry," Carmen said.

"Don't worry about it," Ronnie said pulling her blonde hair onto her right
shoulder. "Now tell me what is going on at the school."

"We had an assembly today," Carmen said. "All the students are hysterical
and right when I left Guber was setting up for a broadcast over public
access to speak to the parents about gun violence and how it's how
effecting the student body."

"Who would think I could cause so much trouble?" Ronnie asked rhetorically.

"Thanks for coming Marie," Ronnie said as Marie gathered her books and
headed towards the door.

"You're welcome Miss Cook," Marie said. "Get well soon."

"I'll do my best," Ronnie said as Marie left. "What happened to the kid
who shot me?" she asked as she turned to Carmen.

"Right after the barged into the school and called an ambulance they
arrested him and held him in prison. They're going to put him on trial and
they got five of the nineteen kids in your classroom to testify but they
need you to testify as well so they aren't scheduling the trial until you
are up and about," Carmen reported.

"I never had a reason to fear my students before but now I'm not sure who
to trust," Ronnie said.

"Hey the majority of the kids that are at Winslow are good kids, kids with
high GPAs, but some of them are notorious," Carmen said. "We had no way of
knowing that Chad Baker was going to run into your classroom with a gun
after you tried to help him."

"That's what scares me Carmen," Ronnie said. "We had no way of knowing but
there had to have been signs that we somehow ignored."

"Why don't you get some more sleep," Carmen said. "You're going to need it
when you start physical therapy tomorrow."

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